1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a rubber dam retaining clamp and, more particularly, to a clamp which retracts the gingival tissue and dam from the distal of the rearmost tooth of the dental arch.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the practice of dentistry, a thin rubber sheet, known as a rubber dam, is commonly placed around one or more teeth, with the teeth perforating the dam to provide an exposed saliva-free tooth area on which to work. In order to retain the rubber dam around the teeth, retaining clamps having opposed, spring-biased jaws engaging opposite sides of a tooth are used to retain the dam against the gingival tissue. Typical such clamps are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 158,376; 1,496,541 and 1,970,875.
Gingival tissue distal to the rearmost tooth normally extends toward the distal marginal ridge or overlaps the ridge to form a flap-like projection partially covering the occlusal surface of the tooth. When it is necessary to restore this surface, the dentist is confronted with the problem of retracting the gingival tissue extending along the distal surface and holding back the rubber dam therefrom. Existing retaining clamps are not adequate to solve this problem.